Tuesday 22 April 2014

My Very First Sticker Art Gallery by Sam Lake and Carles Ballesteros (Usborne Books)


My Very First Sticker Art Gallery

Written by Sam Lake

Illustrated by Carles Ballesteros

Published by Usborne Books

As a bit of an artsy fartsy type (if you'll pardon the expression) I'm always looking for ways to introduce Charlotte to the fabulous works of art, and fabulous artists dotted throughout history. Ancient to modern, all styles and mediums. Unfortunately these days our gallery visits tend to be along the lines of "How fast can Charlotte whizz through each of the displays before hitting the shop or the cafe?"

Ho hum - At least we try. Though there are better ways to engage children with art, no better way than giving them something fun and interesting to do while learning about the world's greatest masterpieces.

Here's Usborne's fantastic "My Very First Sticker Art Gallery", a nice thick and beautifully produced sticker book crammed with over 260 stickers. Children can explore everything from Picasso to Hepworth, from Seurat to Salvador Dali - and find out a little bit more about the styles and movements that shaped art and influenced artists throughout the ages.

One of the most satisfying aspects of the book - and this isn't something we find with a lot of sticker books - is that once all that frenetic sticker-ing is over with, you're left with a dazzling colourful art reference that can be dipped back into again and again (it's come in very useful over the last week or so, as we've been exploring art both ancient and modern during our week off in various forms - not least of all with last week's fabulous Book of the Week, William and the Missing Masterpiece).

Usborne reign supreme when it comes to producing books on weighty grown-up subjects that are made interesting and engaging for children, without any dumbing down or needless babying. A fabulous activity book that might just encourage your little one to pick up their brushes and have a go themselves, or at least slow down a little bit next time you find yourself in a gallery or a museum!

Charlotte's best bit: The Upside Down Fruit Face (Arcimboldo's Fruit Bowl!)

Daddy's Favourite bit: So many gorgeous works of art to share with Charlotte, a really fascinating and interesting book

(Kindly sent to us for review by Usborne Books)